MacBook Air 8GB RAM

Report · Mar 20, 2022

Does anyone successfully use MacBook Air 8GB RAM with Adobe CC? I am getting a MacBook Air and hoping that the 8GB RAM version will be suitable for my needs. I don't really want to pay an extra £180 for the 16GB RAM version but at the same time I will if it is necessary.

I have watched many reviews and the majority of people are on the opinion that 8GB would easily cope with the sort of use I need but some people say it is definitely worth getting the 16GB.

I thought I would ask here to see if anyone has experinece with it with regular use of Adobe CC. I mainly use InDesign and Photoshop. I also use Premier Pro and Illustrator. I am a web designer and also do some graphic design, mainly prospectuses, newletters, posters and sometimes videos.

Some insight would be apprecited.

Report · Mar 20, 2022

InDesign, maybe, by itself. Photoshop no. You need a serious machine for this high end software. (You cannot later add RAM to an M1). I'd also beware of the 256GB storage option, will fill in no time.

Report · Mar 20, 2022

Thank you for your answer. Do you have experience with this laptop? Most user testing shows that it works with Photoshop and Premier Pro very well.

I would really like to hear from someone who uses it regularly.

Report · Mar 20, 2022

I know 180 quid isn't cheap, but it'll pay dividends every day if you invest in the additional RAM for working with Creative Cloud. We're not just talking the ability to run Adobe apps at all, but also to run them quickly and efficiently, with other assorted applications that'll make doing your work much easier. RAM is the one thing you can't improve on for your MacBook Air, and the one thing you'll regret scrimping on every time you fire up the system to do serious work.

A few additional things I'd consider:

An SSD external disk. Those two Thunderbolt ports on the side of your MBA make an SSD practically as fast as additional memory inside the system for your System on a Chip setup. And a fast external SSD is also a lot cheaper than the SoC storage upgrades.
An external monitor. A big one. There's nothing like the portability of a flyweight MBA, but when you're working at your desk connecting to a large high-resolution external monitor will save your eyesight. Especially for exacting, detailed graphics work. It's either that or getting new eyeglass prescriptions every six months. Please don't ask me how I know.
A fast Thunderbolt dock with additional Thunderbolt/USB-C/USB-A ports and hopefully an HDMI/DisplayPort adapter for your monitor. This gives you the best of both worlds with your MBA: a flyweight laptop for the road and a full-featured desktop workstation you can use to connect to almost anything. And the best part is you can just unplug one Thunderbolt cable and fly whenever you need to.

Hope this helps,

Randy

Report · Mar 20, 2022

Super helpful thank you. I am currently using MacBook Pro (2019) 16" 16GB and never had any issues with performance, speed or anything else, so would really like the same performance from the new laptop. I was hoping that the lower RAM on the MacBook Air would be somewhat compensated by the better M1 processor and therefore it would run similarly to my current one. Is that not the case?

Report · Mar 20, 2022

I would say no.

Chip speed is one thing. Data throughput is quite another. That's where RAM matters.

Randy

Report · Mar 20, 2022

I suggest springing for the extra RAM. It may not make much difference now, but in a few years you will probably wish you had chosen it, and it will be a few years too late.

Report · Mar 22, 2022

I just ran across a relevant article for you:

https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/81172-how-much-mac-memory-do-i-need/

I'm not affiliated with this company, though I am a longtime customer.